Method of rolling strip metal



Nov. 8, l 932.

RAID:

WITNESS B. R. sHovER 1,887,248

METHOD OF ROLLING STRIP METAL Filed Sept. 23, 1926 VU Nm INVENTOR Patented Nov. 8, 1932 PATENT OFFICE BARTON B. SHOVEB, 0F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA METHOD OF ROLLING STRIP METAL Application led September 23, 1926. Serial No. 137,330.

In my copending patent application Serial No. 120,765, filed July 6, 1926, I have disclosed a method and apparatus for rolling strip metal, according to which hot rolled strip is reeled at the discharge side of one roll pass, and then unreeled directly into the entering side of a succeeding roll pass. Among the advantages of that procedure are the conservation of the heat of the strip, and a material diminution in its oxi ation. By so reeling and unreeling the strip it becomes exposed for a minimum time to oxidation by, and heat radiation to the atmosphere, and it does not lose heat by conduction, due to contact with guides, transfer tables, troughs and such other instrumentalities as are customarily used to convey or direct strip from one to another of successive roll passes. The strip may therefore be reduced, without intermediate heating, to much thinner gages than obtainable in the customary practices, and there also results a substantial saving in the cost of equipment, in mill space and in power.

In another copending patent application Serial No. 123,224, filed J uly 17, 1926, I have disclosed, as a species of the first-mentioned invention, another invention according to which strip metal is reeled as it emerges from a roll pass, and, while reeled, is placed in a heating furnace for raising lts temperature. Thereafter the heated reeled strip is subjected to further rolling by being passed directly from its reel into a roll pass either singly or in matched relationship with one or more other similarly reeled and heated strips. By such procedure, the stri is protected against oxidation and heat oss, and is in such a compact and easily handleable form that long lengths of it may be heated in a small furnace with manifest economy in equipment and 'in fuel consumption. D

The present invention is in part a specles of both of those disclosed in my said copending applications, the object of this invention being to provide a simple, effective and economical method of rolling strip whereby 1t may be reduced in superimposed multiple` form, or in other words in matched or doubled form, or matched and doubled form, to

verythinegages without substantial loss of heatand without subjecting the strip to oxidation for protracted periods.

In the practice of this invention, strip metal is first rolled singly to such gage as it is customarily reduced in this way. The strip is then either matched or doubled, or matched and doubled, and while tlus superimposed is reeled. While so reeled it is placed in a. heatingifurnace for raising its. temperature, and thereafter it is subjected to further rolling by being passed in its matched or doubled form directly from its reel into a roll pass.

By such procedure, the strip is protected against oxidation and heat loss after it has been reeled, and when reeled it is in such a compact and easily handleable form that long lengths of it may be heated in a small furnace with manifest economy in equipment and in fuel consumption`- When the singly rolled strip emerges from its last roll pass it may be transferred to a hot bed, and there either matched or doubled to place it in superimposed multiple form. Whether matched or doubled, or matched and doubled, suitable material in powdered or liquid solution form may be deposited on the faces of strips to prevent them from sticking to each other. When the strips are matched prior to being reeled their ends which are outermost on a reel may be connected to each other, as by spot or other temporary welding or by folding the projecting en`d of one strip over the ends of the others so that the ends may not become separated as the strips pass between rolls. Although the invention fully contemplates the reelingof matched strips, the preferred procedure is to double either single or matched strips and to so reel them that the free ends of the strip are innermost and their double end or ends outermost of the roll. In doing this it becomes unnecessary to connect the free ends of superimposed strips to each other before passing them between rolls.

The. invention may be further understood by reference to the accompanying drawing, of which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of apparatus on which the invention may be j arranged and constructed, and that if desired the strip may be reeled and unreeled between successive roll passes in the manner disclosed in my copending patent application Serial No. 120,765.

At the end of rolling mill 1-4 there is a roller bed 5 which receives the singlyrolled strips from roll pass 4, and from which the strips may be transferred to a hot bed 6 which may be arranged adjacent to the roller bed. On this hot bed any desired number of strips are matched, or one or any desired number are doubled to arrange them in multiple superimposed form, the faces of the strips being provided with a suitable coating, such as previously described, to prevent the strips from sticking to each other. The matched or doubled strips are then reeled upon a suitable reel 7 which preferably has a solid core or spool capable of withstanding the high temperature of the heating furnace, the reel being driven by a suitable motor 8.

-Adjacent to reel 7 there is a heating furnace 9 into one end of which the reeled and matched or doubled or matched and doubled strips are charged, and from the other end of which they are removed for further rolling directly from'their reeled form. When a heated. reel of this superimposed strip is removed from this furnace it may be attached to a support 10 in front of the first of a series of pairs of rolls 11, 12, 13 and 14 which are indicated as being arranged in continuous mill fashion, although the construction and arrangement may be modified as explained with reference to the roll passes 1-4.

The arrangement of apparatusfshown in Fig. 1 contemplates the use of two sets of roll passes, one for rolling blanks singly, and the other for rolling heated superimposed strip directly from a reel. In Fig. 2 there is shown a modification of this apparatus in which a single set of rolls may be used for both operations with an attending economy in cost of installation and of mill space, but with necessary reduction in maximum output. In this apparatus blanks may be first rolled singly in a series of pairs of rolls 21, 22, 23 and 24, from which they are received by a roller table 25and transferred to a hot bed 26. The matchedl or doubled or matched and doubled strips are then placed upon a reel 27 driven by a motor 28 arranged at the opposite end of the rolling bed from that of reel 7 in Fig. 1. The superimposed strips reeled by reel 27 may then be charged into one end of a heating furnace 29 conveniently arranged at the sides of rolls 21-24, and when heated may be removed from the opposite end of this furnace and passed directly into rolls21.

For supporting reeled strip while enterlng rolls 21, a reel support 30 may be mounted on a guideway 31 for movement transversely of the end of the furnace and of the line of feed through the rolls. At the time blanks are being rolled singly this reel support may stand at the discharge end of furnace 29 out of the line of the roll pass, and, when the matched or doubled or matched and doubled strips are being rolled, a reel may be placed upon support 30 while it is adjacent to the discharge end of the furnace and then moved to a position in the line of the roll pass, this movement of the reel support being repeated for successively receiving heated reels from the furnace and supporting them in roll-receiving positions. To avoid delay in the rolling operation incident to the movements and loading of a single reel support, two such supports may be arranged side by side in parallel relationship, or two reel supports may be mounted on a turn table in the manner disclosed in myI said copending patent application Serial No. 120,765.

Rolls 21-24 may be operated for rolling single and multi le strip without changing their setting, it Eeing understood that if a single strip of a certain gage is produced by a setting ofthe rolls the strlps, so rolled ma be matched in pairs, or each may be double and rerolledby the same rolls, thus reducing the gage to one-half that of the single strip.

. Similarly, strips of one-third, one-fourth, etc.

thickness may be produced without change of roll setting.

To enter multiple reeled strips into the bite of a roll pass, a workman may engage its ends by a pair of tongs and place it into the bite of the rolls, or suitable mechanism may be provided for this purpose. When the reeled strips are in matched relationship as distinguished from being doubled or matched and doubled, their free outer ends are connected to each other by temporary welding or by folding in the manner previously explained. However, when the reeled stri is doubled, or first matched and then doub ed, with the folded end outermost of a reel, which is the preferred procedure, the folded end may be entered directly into a roll pass without any welding or other connection of the strip being made.

In the practice of this invention metal strip may be rolled to very thin gage without material loss of heat and with material diminution in the subjection of the strip to oxidation by the atmosphere. Furthermore, reheating of the strip may be effected in a small heating furnace, and in a manner requiring little if any apparatus for handlin it. These and other advantages will he rea ily apparent to those skilled in the art, and are further apparent by reference to my said copendin g patent applications.

The word strip as used throughout this specification and in the claims, is not limited to metal of any maximum width. It is intended to include narrow strips as -Well as strips of a width which are customarily known as sheets, as for example strips of the width of sheet metal used in the manufacture of tin plate.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have described the principle and mode of operation of my invention, andhave diagrammatically illustrated the, construction and arrangement of apparatus on which it may be practiced. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described and on apparatus other than that particularly illustrated.

I claim as my invention:

1. The method of rolling strip metal, com prising rolling strip singly, doubling the rolled strip, reeling the doubled strip, heating the reeled double strip in a single coil, and subsequently passing the heated doubled strip directly from the reel through a roll pass.

2. The method of rolling strip metal, comprising rolling strip singly, doubling the rolled strip, reeling the doubled strip in a single coil with the free ends of the strip innermost and its doubled end outermost of the reel, heating the reeled and doubled strip, and

subsequently passing the heated doubled strip directly from the reel through a roll pass, the doubled end of the strip being first to enter the roll pass.

3. The method of rolling strip metal, comprisingrolling strip singly, doubling and matching the rolled strip, reeling the doubled and matched strip in a single coil, heating the reeled doubled and matched strip, and subsequently passing the heated doubled and matched strip directly from the reel through a roll pass.

i The method of rolling strip metal, comprising passing strip singly through a, succession of roll passes, superimposing the rolled strip in multiple, reeling the strip in a single coil in its multiple arrangement, heating the reeled strip, and subsequently passing the heated superimposed strip in multiple directly from the reel, through the same succession of unaltered roll passes, thereby reducing the thickness of the rerolled strip to a fraction of its original thickness depending upon the number of strips superimposed for rerolling.

5. The method of rolling reeled strip, comprising passing strip singly through a succession of roll passes, doubling the rolled e strip, reeling the doubled strip in a single coil, heating the reeled doubled strip, and subsequently passing the heated doubled strip directly from the reel through the same succession of unaltered roll passes, thereby reducing the thickness of the rerolled strip to a fraction of its original thickness.

6. The method of rolling strip metal. comprising passing a strip singly through a succession of roll passes, doubling and matching the rolled strip, reeling the doubled and matched strip in a single coil, heating the reeled doubled and matched strip, and subsequently passing the heated doubled and matched strip directly from the reel through the same succession of unaltered roll passes, thereby reducing the thickness of the rerolled strip to a fraction of its original thickness depending upon the number of strips doubled and matched for rerolling.

In testimony whereof, I sign my name.

-BARTON R. SHOVER. 

